Biologist, First Nation take Fisheries and Oceans Canada to court over farmed-salmon concerns

VANCOUVER—Fisheries and Oceans Canada is in Federal Court this week defending a policy that allows salmon farming companies to transfer juvenile salmon from land-based hatcheries into ocean pens without first testing for piscine reovirus or PRV.

Biologist Alexandra Morton, represented by Ecojustice, and the ‘Namgis First Nation have challenged the federal policy in separate cases that will be heard together. They argue that PVR is a “disease agent” and therefore it should be illegal for salmon carrying the virus to be transferred into the ocean.

Biologist Alexandra Morton is seen here in front of a B.C. salmon farm. Morton is in court this week challenging a Fisheries and Oceans Canada policy that allows juvenile salmon to be transferred from land-based hatcheries into the ocean without first being tested for piscine reovirus. (Simon Ager/Submitted)

The ‘Namgis case also argues that the federal government failed to fulfil its duties to consult and accommodate when issued licenses for salmon farms to transfer juvenile salmon into the ocean without testing for the virus.

“We are simply arguing that the minister of Fisheries needs to screen for this virus,” said Morton ahead of the first day of hearings Monday.

“Screening is the very least he can do, right now what he’s essentially done is cloak himself in wilful blindness to whether PRV is being delivered to our oceans through these fish farm hatcheries,” added Kegan Pepper-Smith, one of the Ecojustice lawyers representing Morton.

In a statement Michelle Rainer, a spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said “we have a responsibility to ensure that fish and their habitat are protected for future generations and we take this responsibility very seriously.”

PRV “occurs naturally in oceans around the world” and has been found in both farmed and wild salmon for decades, she said.

“DFO has a robust policy for the transfer of smolts from land-based hatcheries to ocean pens, requiring both provincial and federal oversight and veterinarian checks before companies are given a license to transfer the fish,” said Shawn Hall, a spokesperson for the BC Salmon Farmers.

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“We are not allowed to put diseased fish into the ocean, nor would we want to. Healthy fish are a cornerstone of our business — both wild and farm-raised,” he said.

The question is whether PRV should be considered a disease or disease-agent under the federal fishery regulations.

In Norway and other regions around the world, PVR has been shown to cause heart and skeletal muscle inflammation in Atlantic salmon — a disease that can be fatal in some cases. It is a major concern for environmental groups and First Nations worried about the impact of fish farms on wild salmon.

In B.C. the virus has not been conclusively shown to cause HSMI, according to a recent review of the virus in fish processing plant waste water conducted for the provincial government and Hall said the strain found in B.C. is “almost certainly different from the one found in Europe.”

However, a peer-reviewed study co-authored by a Fisheries and Oceans scientist found PRV off the B.C. coast is associated with jaundice and anemia in wild Chinook salmon and HSMI-like symptoms in Atlantic salmon.

While there may be uncertainty about the impacts of the virus, Pepper-Smith and Morton say a precautionary approach should be taken and screening is the first, critical step.

“Wild salmon are the lifeblood of our B.C. coast, they’re critical to the marine ecosystems where they feed, swim and spawn and they are a food source to over 100 species including the critically endangered killer whales,” Pepper-Smith said.

Ainslie Cruickshank is a Vancouver-based reporter covering the environment. Follow her on Twitter: @ainscruickshank